The present invention relates in general to spare tire carriers and pertains more particularly to a spare tire carrier which is mounted to a roll bar attached to an on-off utility vehicle. The spare tire carrier of this invention is an improvement over the conventional tailgate mounted or internally floor/sidewall mounted methods of carrying a spare tire with an on-off road utility vehicle.
With a conventional spare tire carrier mounted at the rear tailgate area of an on-off road utility vehicle, or other vehicle with an exterior spare tire mount, it is generally necessary that the spare tire be mounted on a swing-away type carrier or that the tailgate design be modified so that the tailgate itself swings open so that the mounting position of the spare tire does not interfere with the normal operation of the tailgate
A drawback with the conventional spare tire carrier mounted in an alternative internal position within the vehicle is that it is in a fixed position, typically mounted to the interior side wall of the on-off road utility vehicle and resting on the interior floor. This fixed position allows no flexibility and consumes valuable interior space.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved spare tire carrier mountable to the roll bar of an on-off road utility vehicle or other suitable vehicle. With the roll bar mounted spare tire carrier, the mounting of the spare tire does not interfere with the normal operation of the tailgate nor any other functional device of the on-off road utility vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a spare tire carrier pivotally mountable to the roll bar, thereby increasing flexibility by allowing the spare tire to be rotated outside the vehicle when maximum interior floor space or cargo space is needed and rotated inside the passenger or cargo areas of the vehicle when conditions such as installing a vehicle cap or cover warrant.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide the capability of carrying multiple spare tires for extended back county trips by mounting multiple spare tire carriers on opposite sides of a roll bar.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide not only the ability to carry multiple spare tires but the ability to carrying multiple types of spare tires, some of which can be utilized for unique terrain.